Blog, What's That?

Oh no, I know! It has been awhile. We took a long break from being obsessed with the computer this summer and it has been easy to keep that routine going! Plus, I took the summer off with my schoolwork and paid the piper when fall came. But, two more classes down and the end is in sight. I am actually excited to get get to the point that I can start studying for the CPA exam (sick, I know!). Now I am learning all about our *simple* tax code. No wonder the tests are open book.

Fall soccer season has come and (almost) gone. It amazes me how competitive sports are at such a young age. There are traveling tournaments for 8 year olds! And not 45 minutes away trips. It is hard to not feel the pressure.

That is why I am so excited for an event that is coming up at our church. It is called "Family Room" and it is a chance for the younger people of our church to ask questions about life and family to a panel of couples with more life experience. They also serve dinner and provide child care. We are very much looking forward to the interaction!

I also hit the big 3-0- this month! I don't feel 30, so I guess it really hasn't bothered me. A big thanks to my parents and my in-laws for taking care of the kids overnight so Jon and I could have a nice, long and leisurely night out. It was WONDERFUL! Brought back a lot of memories of us spending time together in college before the kiddos and the craziness. I think intentional quality time is such an integral part of developing a strong relationship with your spouse!

Our Weekend

Eye on The Prize

"Who believes what we've heard and seen? Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?
The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him.
He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. Justice miscarried, and he was led off—and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man, Even though he'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true.
Still, it's what God had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God's plan will deeply prosper through him.
Out of that terrible travail of soul, he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many "righteous ones," as he himself carries the burden of their sins. Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—the best of everything, the highest honors—Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep."

I am so thankful for Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for me, for you, for everyone. When I consider the depth and enormity of it, I feel overwhelmed. I think Isaiah 53 from "The Message" translation gives a powerful portrayal of the extent of His sacrifice. I am making it my goal to do a better job of sharing this hope with others.

Along other lines, I know I have been terrible at updating this blog. Frankly, I am trying to stay away from the Internet~because I waste too much time here! But it is good to get caught up with people, too. So I guess as with everything in life, balance is a good thing.


I just found out I squeaked by with an 'A' in my Microeconomics class. I also clinched an 'A' in my Business Communications class. The end of a term is such a blur of activity and intensity that it takes a few weeks for me to recover from the late nights and constant studying. But now I am off on my next two courses--Business Law II and Quantitative Methods (which is some sort of mixture of business, algebra, stats, and calculus). Sounds fun, huh? It is hard to believe the finish line is actually nearing. Lately I have been constantly thinking about this scripture from 1 Corinthians 9:


"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."


It is another reminder for me to live my life with purpose. It is too easy for me to get bogged down in the drama and the craziness~ the constant distractions from the goal. I keep reminding myself to keep my eye on the prize in every aspect of my life: God, marriage, family, work, school, relationships, etc.


Speaking of training and making our bodies slaves~ since January I have lost 30 lbs! And I am going to say a big "WOOHOO" because it took some blood, sweat and tears! Nothing fancy, just the old "eat less, exercise more." I wish is was something flashier, but I just had to get my behind on the treadmill and learn more portion control. And I have to give a big shout out to my hubby for the additional motivational boost! We had been arguing a lot about whether or not we would go camping this summer (I LOVE to camp!). And one day I was whining about my weight, so he gave me a challenge. If I lost the weight I wanted to lose, he would go camping. Game on! (I love a good challenge!!) And once the pounds starting dropping, my motivation skyrocketed. Now I am within a few pounds of what I weighed in college and down to my lowest dress size in about 6-7 years. It feels good!


I have also found out why I have been so sick recently. I have been going back and forth to the doctor because I have had a lot of trouble breathing. It was a sort of chest tightness, throat fullness and coughing that I couldn't shake~ it was getting worse. My doctor guessed it was asthma, but I have played sports all of my life and the diagnosis didn't seem to fit. However, it got to the point that I had a lump in my throat that wouldn't go away and I actually had to go to the hospital because it felt as if my throat was closing. After arriving at the hospital, I broke out in a rash all over my chest and earned myself a shot of epinephrine, benadryl, and something else. It was not fun and they pretty much diagnosed it as an allergic reaction.

My symptoms seemed to hang on and it was pretty bothersome. However, my breakthrough came one night as I was driving home from playing basketball at New Hope. I had the radio on and the news broadcast brought up a story about women having allergic reactions to Victoria's Secret bras (due to formaldehyde). I flipped out! Because I have lost so much weight, I dropped a few sizes and wanted a to buy a nice, flattering bra. WELL, I splurged on one at Victoria's Secret. That was about the time that these curious symptoms started popping up! Well, I got rid of the bra, and since then the lump has gone away as well as the chest tightness and breathlessness. And no more rashes! Who in the world would have guessed!

So, if you hung on this long, I am pretty impressed! That is about all of the big stuff rocking my world right now. God bless (and stay away from stuff w/ formaldehyde)!

Where Have I Been?

~Taking care of sick family and even being taken care of a couple of times.
~Doing homework, studying, and doing more homework (however, a 4.0 on my last set of classes!)
~Working and continuing to strive to learn new things.
~The constant and never-changing housework that I wish would disappear, but alas it does not.
~Spending some quality time with my babies.
~Playing single parent at times since Jon has been slammed at work!
~Have I mentioned the cleaning?
~Learning, again, the importance of proactively planned quiet time with God.

So, I have been lacking in the blogging sphere and I am not sure how it is going to go for the next several months. I am kicking my schoolwork into high gear and that takes up a lot of my free time. The end is in sight and I want to finish strong. But I will try and stop back and give updates from time to time. I personally can't believe that it is practically the middle of February already!

Talk Shows

I think I am going to have to scale back on the political talk shows I listen to on the radio! They get me all fired up--and frankly I am tired of all of the craziness. One minute you have President Obama pounding people over the head with this so-called "stimulus bill" and then you have all of these politicians screaming and crying and people who think that all the problems in their world are going to magically disappear. It makes me frustrated and annoyed. Bleh.